Hello
You may know my z3m as it was on piston heads a few weeks ago, the chassis no is LB64133 (I have decided to keep it) and was made in April 2002, however the car is on a 03 plate as BMW kept it in their factory for a few months. Now should I change the connecting bearings? I have a letter from BMW saying that this batch was not affected by the bearing issues? what do you guys think change or leave alone? if I need change who would you reccomend? I live in Rayleigh, so can take to Munich Legends or my local main dealer (Fairfields) or evolve in bedfordshire. Any help or advice please
all the best Nick
Bearing change on a s54
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shantybeater
- Joined: Wed 12 Mar, 2008 14:33
- Posts: 1967
- Location: UK
I've heard only good things about Munich and evolve so either should do a good job, I'm always sceptical about main dealers nowadays, chances are you'll have some 17 year old apprentice who doesn't give a toss about the car working on it...
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Re: Bearing change on a s54
BMW also said that none of the Z3Ms were affected by the bearing issue because of a lower rev limit. Regardless of that we have seen a few fail. I am contemplating this as a PM measure myself and would cetaionly trust Munich Legends to do the job. They are nice prople and do all the jobs i don't fancy doing myself.S54James wrote:Hello
You may know my z3m as it was on piston heads a few weeks ago, the chassis no is LB64133 (I have decided to keep it) and was made in April 2002, however the car is on a 03 plate as BMW kept it in their factory for a few months. Now should I change the connecting bearings? I have a letter from BMW saying that this batch was not affected by the bearing issues? what do you guys think change or leave alone? if I need change who would you reccomend? I live in Rayleigh, so can take to Munich Legends or my local main dealer (Fairfields) or evolve in bedfordshire. Any help or advice please
all the best Nick
Si.
bearing change
Hello
I have just contacted Munich legends and they are going to phone me back today. they also did say "if its not broke not fix it" but did understand the preventative measure. They put in the later z4m bearings with new ARP bolt set. I will let you know how I get on
regards
Nick
I have just contacted Munich legends and they are going to phone me back today. they also did say "if its not broke not fix it" but did understand the preventative measure. They put in the later z4m bearings with new ARP bolt set. I will let you know how I get on
regards
Nick
I was going to mention the bolt set is usually recommended as well.
My view is it is a personal choice and would be affected by how long you intend to keep the car, its use and how paranoid you are (in a nice way as in not wanting any "worries") and of course cost.
I believe its a c £800 job (not sure if that includes the ARP's though) so will be interesting to see what they quote.
I would certainly be thinking of this but I have been assured by a previous owner that this was done on mine when it had a warranty repair on the fan and radiator ie they agreed to do it as goodwill due to the inconvenience of the fan failure (it was during a Zroadster cruise in Scotland I think). He had no reason to make this up but did say BMW would not give any paperwork to confirm the work done (as is BMW policy with all "goodwill" work). So I'm happy to lkeave mine as is. Incidently mine has an 8,000 RPM limit (that I keep hitting
) and the engine runs sweet 
My view is it is a personal choice and would be affected by how long you intend to keep the car, its use and how paranoid you are (in a nice way as in not wanting any "worries") and of course cost.
I believe its a c £800 job (not sure if that includes the ARP's though) so will be interesting to see what they quote.
I would certainly be thinking of this but I have been assured by a previous owner that this was done on mine when it had a warranty repair on the fan and radiator ie they agreed to do it as goodwill due to the inconvenience of the fan failure (it was during a Zroadster cruise in Scotland I think). He had no reason to make this up but did say BMW would not give any paperwork to confirm the work done (as is BMW policy with all "goodwill" work). So I'm happy to lkeave mine as is. Incidently mine has an 8,000 RPM limit (that I keep hitting
) and the engine runs sweet 
Might be worth you reading this thread for background info on Z3mCoupe
http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8671
http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8671
Thanks for the link, very interesting.
so do I wait for a failure, then approach BMW like that chap did. Do nothing and have that constant nagging feeling in the back of my mind? or just get it done at munich Legends?
What have all you other s54 owners done out their? they cant all be potential trouble surley ?
regards
Nick
so do I wait for a failure, then approach BMW like that chap did. Do nothing and have that constant nagging feeling in the back of my mind? or just get it done at munich Legends?
What have all you other s54 owners done out their? they cant all be potential trouble surley ?
regards
Nick
Would not even contemplate it. If you do not abuse the car the bearings will not fail.
You are more likely to be rear ended by some muppet causing the car to be written off then having an engine failure.
If the bearings did fail you would still be doing the same repairs but adding the cost of a second hand/new crank.
So I would not bother
You are more likely to be rear ended by some muppet causing the car to be written off then having an engine failure.
If the bearings did fail you would still be doing the same repairs but adding the cost of a second hand/new crank.
So I would not bother
I'm in the 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it' group
65000 miles so far
65000 miles so far
Gazza
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster
, BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster
, BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
It was me who started the thread here: http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8671
It's always a very difficult conundrum to decide whether prevention is better than cure, OR, whether if it ain't broke, don't fix it, is wise?
Personally, I think the problem of the S54 engine in the MC/MR lies in the con-rod bolts stretching at high revs which allows the bearing shells to spin and then the aperture inside the con-rods, in which the BS sit, go oval rather than remain circular, and this is why my BS got hammered to smithereens.
Once a BS breaks up, swarf particles travel throughout the oil system, and its quite possible to have the engine rebuilt, only for a bit of failed BS to remain inside the engine and cause problems at a later date. That's why BMW provided me with a new engine. On that basis, if you're going to have to pay to sort the damage after failure has occurred, then I think prevention is far better than cure.
I think BMW has been negligent in failing to include our S54 engines in the recall done for E46 M3s, because despite what they say about the reduced red-line to 7,600rpm, the S54 engine DOES fail, as I know from experience.
It's always a very difficult conundrum to decide whether prevention is better than cure, OR, whether if it ain't broke, don't fix it, is wise?
Personally, I think the problem of the S54 engine in the MC/MR lies in the con-rod bolts stretching at high revs which allows the bearing shells to spin and then the aperture inside the con-rods, in which the BS sit, go oval rather than remain circular, and this is why my BS got hammered to smithereens.
Once a BS breaks up, swarf particles travel throughout the oil system, and its quite possible to have the engine rebuilt, only for a bit of failed BS to remain inside the engine and cause problems at a later date. That's why BMW provided me with a new engine. On that basis, if you're going to have to pay to sort the damage after failure has occurred, then I think prevention is far better than cure.
I think BMW has been negligent in failing to include our S54 engines in the recall done for E46 M3s, because despite what they say about the reduced red-line to 7,600rpm, the S54 engine DOES fail, as I know from experience.
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ZZZEMMCO
- Z Register organiser
- Joined: Wed 19 Nov, 2003 13:55
- Posts: 1135
- Location: Motown = Milton Keynes
Vanos, Floors and shells +
An interesting subject.Our Z,s have suffered expensive vanos and boot floor problems in the S50,s and Engine shells in the S54,s.It seems that the boot floor issue recently posted on this forum, and BMW AG /UK.s lack of any interest, gives a 10 year window for their possible PR consideration, even if out of their warranty.
The action by Exdos in putting the facts in black & white--On record to BMW UK and follow ups was an important step should a problem arise in the future. It did.!!
The action by Exdos in putting the facts in black & white--On record to BMW UK and follow ups was an important step should a problem arise in the future. It did.!!
safetyfast
As an ex-S54 owner and one who did the bearing change, I'd strongly suggest that you look back for my posts about the issue.
Although there were no obvious signs that my engine had a problem, when I took out the bearing shells there was clear evidence of "rocking" and other nasties at onlt 24k miles. My neighbour, who is a qualified and very experienced motor engineer, looked at them and thought that failure was likely and that I was doing the right thing. Its a straight forward DIY project but hard work if you're using axle stands (and getting old like me!).
I'd imagine that BMW will walk away from any problems now, given the age of even the youngest Z3M and they were certainly pretty dismissive when Exdos and I wrote some time ago.
I still have a pdf of the instructions that came with the repair kit which I'd be happy to email if wanted...
Russ
Although there were no obvious signs that my engine had a problem, when I took out the bearing shells there was clear evidence of "rocking" and other nasties at onlt 24k miles. My neighbour, who is a qualified and very experienced motor engineer, looked at them and thought that failure was likely and that I was doing the right thing. Its a straight forward DIY project but hard work if you're using axle stands (and getting old like me!).
I'd imagine that BMW will walk away from any problems now, given the age of even the youngest Z3M and they were certainly pretty dismissive when Exdos and I wrote some time ago.
I still have a pdf of the instructions that came with the repair kit which I'd be happy to email if wanted...
Russ
Quite frankly I couldn't live with that and would have to sort it out before 'the big bang' occurred.
I had a very similar problem with the Harley. The TC88 engine (new on 1999 models) had two cams driven by HyVo multi link chains tensioned with a spring loaded polymer pad on each chain. Rumour soon spread that the tensioner pads had unpredictable wear characteristics, some lasting less than 20k others doing 80k. Of course when they did let go bits of the pads and steel mountings got deposited throughout the oil delivery system including the pump. Harley, in their normal fashion, denied all knowledge of the problem!
In the end I fitted a full gear-drive conversion made by S&S performance at quite considerable cost, however the piece of mind was priceless.
I had a very similar problem with the Harley. The TC88 engine (new on 1999 models) had two cams driven by HyVo multi link chains tensioned with a spring loaded polymer pad on each chain. Rumour soon spread that the tensioner pads had unpredictable wear characteristics, some lasting less than 20k others doing 80k. Of course when they did let go bits of the pads and steel mountings got deposited throughout the oil delivery system including the pump. Harley, in their normal fashion, denied all knowledge of the problem!
In the end I fitted a full gear-drive conversion made by S&S performance at quite considerable cost, however the piece of mind was priceless.
